Or does this very popular leader of the Philippines have a sense of humour that escapes me but which his Chinese listeners might grasp?

The Philippines having been colonized by Spain, I recognize a trace of Latin humour in Duterte's statement...Anglo-Saxons may have more difficulty recognizing that type of humour...

Or maybe he's another one too blinded by anti-Americanism to see how foolish it is to embrace dictatorships as an alternative.

The Philippines has a past history of lapsing into dictatorship Steve; if you can recall the years of Ferdinand Marcos.

The 1986 People's Power revolt that finally saw off Ferdinand and Imelda did not solve the problem for all time. It merely restored the pre-Marcos constitution modelled closely on that of the US. And (history repeats itself) just like in the pre-Marcos era their elected governments have generally made a hash of governing the country - therefore sowing the seeds of popular discontent and with it the widespread conviction that the turbulent Philippines needs something more autocratic than "democracy" to whip it into shape.

My wife has recently returned from a visit to her homeland for the first time in over a quarter of a century. Down here she is an enthusiastic believer in our local tradition of stable parliamentary democracy and would never dream of wanting her adopted country to be governed any other way. All of the many Filipino immigrants settled here in Australia I have had the privilege to know seem to be on one mind on that point. But my wife came back from her recent visit with the advice "do not judge the Philippines badly because it is now led by a government that is not as scrupulous as you may wish about observing the niceties of civil rights. The Philippines needs a strong hand to be in charge".

The attraction Of China to Duterte is obvious. The order, discipline and progress made by the PRC in contrast to the disfunction and anarchy in his homeland must give Rodrigo Duterte food for thought.